My SPD 10 year old son is withdrawing and being bullied

by Sharon Hood
(South Africa)

Please can someone help me. My son was diagnosed at 4 with SPD. He has been to therapy, had brushing and ot and even play therapy, all of which seemed to be successful. He is in a normal very good school.

He had very good friends who were with him from grade 000 to grade 2 after which they were separated. Last year he still did okay socially even though he was not with them in class, but he is really struggling this year.

He has labeled himself and decided that there is something wrong with him. He is being bullied and is withdrawing, preferring to stay at home all the time. Even when friends greet him at school, he does not want to greet back as he does not want to be noticed. He does however want a disco birthday party?

His school work is very untidy but he is very bright. He struggles to sleep at night, often lying awake until the early hours worrying about school.

I am very concerned as his self esteem is very low, he is very lonely and is very open about saying so. What can I do for this troubled little soul?

Comments for My SPD 10 year old son is withdrawing and being bullied

Honestly out of all the disorders I have and I’m young it seems I get bullied judged and teased the most about the one disorder no one even knows about and it hurts it really does just you’d never know until you lived it and it’s Intergrative Sensory Processing... that’s all imma say

Sep 25, 2015Rating

The Bullied SPD childby: Jen

Hi,

You could be writing about my own 10 yr old SPD son. He has been bullied in school since he began. He responded with aggression and became labled as the "troublemaker" very early on. He is begging me for homeschooling. We did do that for one year, but he is so lonely...

I'm about to take the school district on regarding how children with special needs are not being properly supported in school. They are usually too smart for IEP's, and so get shoved to the wayside. Meanwhile, a citation gets sent home almost every day for the most minute thing. (latest was dropping a felt marker on his pants....seriously).

I feel for you...and I would really like to put a group together where I live, where we SPD parents can learn from each other, and provide space for our kids to make new friends.

Good luck,Jen

Feb 10, 2010Rating

how is the expeditionary learning working out?by: Anonymous

Hi.I'm wondering how well the charter school worked for your child. My 5-year old son has mild SPD and we are looking around for schools. i have a preference for the expeditionary learning environment. But I wonder whether the less structured environments can be problematic too?

Jul 21, 2009Rating

Charter Schoolby: Tony

We are going to send our child to a Charter school as it will be a much better environment for a kid with SPD (20 kids max per class, same teacher and pupils for 2 years, expeditionary learning, instilling a positive school culture, etc). Have you considered Charter Schools?

Jul 21, 2009Rating

Need Awareness and Empathyby: Anonymous

Hi Sharon,

My daughter is very similar to your son and having the same problem. I have been working with her on Social Skills training and trying to build her confidence as much as possible. We joined and are volunteering at a local Disability Awareness Program in our area and they have a wonderful youth program where she is accepted and encouraged to help spread awareness about her issues. We are also hoping to bring the program to her school and incorporate the Sensory Processing Disorder component.

Sometimes, it doesn't happen fast enough for me. But, we are taking positive steps in the right direction and every little bit helps. I wish you and your son the best and...